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TikTok stunned by manhole video during Australian floods: 'About to blow'

Shocking footage of heavy manhole covers bouncing in the air as wild storms batter Australia’s east coast has been shared.

Videos of two different drain covers jumping up and down as heavy rainfall lashed Brisbane on Sunday have attracted attention online.

In one of the clips, posted to TikTok, the metal object can be heard making a loud banging sound as it bounces up and down.

“Brisbane weather! This thing must be 20kg,” the caption reads.

TikTok captures shocking footage of manhole cover bouncing in storm
TikTok captures shocking footage of manhole cover bouncing in storm

In another video posted to Facebook, a car can be seen driving next to a jumping manhole cover in North Lakes.

Numerous viewers online joked that the movement was the “Ninja Turtles trying to get out”, while others said they had encountered the phenomenon.

“It’s been completely lifted off at the end of my street and I tried to bet it back on but it’s bloody heavy,” one woman commented.

“Looks like it’s about to blow. I’d definitely be staying away,” another said.

A third woman said she hit one of the covers with her car after it “popped up” near a shopping centre.

Manhole covers have previously been blown off with enough force to severely hurt someone.

In 2015, a man walking his dog in Brooklyn, US, was seriously injured when an underground explosion sent a 31kg manhole cover hurtling, hitting him in the head, the NY Post reports.

In 2016, a US teacher was killed when a 90kg manhole cover leading to a storm drainage system suddenly flew into the air and smashed her windshield.

Urban Utilities spokesperson Rebecca Schrauf told Yahoo News Australia the covers can become dislodged during intense rainfall and flooding.

“Our crews are working around the clock to respond to the flood event in South East Queensland and keep our water and wastewater networks running,” she said.

“Like all infrastructure, our networks can be impacted by extreme weather.

Boats and other debris are seen washed into Hawthorne ferry terminal by the force of the flood waters in Brisbane. Source: AAP
Boats and other debris washed into Hawthorne ferry terminal by flood waters in Brisbane. Source: AAP

“During intense rainfall and flooding, parts of our wastewater network can become inundated with stormwater.

“One of the results, which is shown in this video, is maintenance hole lids can become dislodged as air in the network is pushed out.”

She said the same issue can also occur in stormwater networks, but isn’t managed by Urban Utilities.

“We’d like to thank the community for their patience during this event and for being our eyes and ears and reporting any issues they spot,” Ms Shrauf said.

If any customers in Brisbane, Ipswich, Lockyer Valley, Somerset and Scenic Rim spot a dislodged maintenance hole lid, they should contact Urban Utilities.

Death toll from floods on the rise in Queensland and NSW

The death toll from southeast Queensland's devastating floods has risen to nine after a man's body was recovered north of Brisbane.

Queensland Police believe it is the 76-year-old who had been missing since Sunday night when he was washed away in his car near Glen Esk.

"This morning police divers located the submerged vehicle and the deceased man in floodwaters at Paddy Gully Creek," police said in a statement on Tuesday night.

Residents of Lismore wade through dangerous floodwaters on Monday.
Many Lismore residents were stranded on their roofs as floodwaters rose dramatically on Monday. Source: AAP

Police have "grave fears" for another man who is missing after he fell from a boat into the Brisbane River on Saturday.

The grim news came as three days of torrential rain finally eased on Tuesday afternoon.

However there is major flooding underway on the Brisbane, Logan, Bremer and Mary Rivers as well as Warrill Creek.

In NSW, a third person has been confirmed dead in floods in Lismore taking the state's death toll to four as Greater Sydney braces for a deluge.

"We've recovered a third body this morning," NSW Deputy Premier Paul Toole told reporters on Wednesday.

"That was a male in the CBD of Lismore. That now takes our total deaths to four.

"This is terrible ... one life lost is too many."

More damage to come from storms: Scott Morrison

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has warned of many more days of extreme weather and flooding.

Storms which have wreaked havoc across southern Queensland and northern NSW are expected to hit Sydney on Wednesday and NSW south coast areas later in the week.

East Gippsland in Victoria and northern Tasmania are also expected to be hit in coming days.

"I want to assure people … at the same time as we're preparing the response (to the floods), we are already preparing — together with the state and local governments — the recovery and clean-up operation," Mr Morrison said in Canberra on Tuesday.

"Assets have been pre-positioned and planning is underway."

with AAP

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